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Mega Moolah game rules explained

Before we get into the bulk of this article, I feel I should point out that this article is aimed at novice players who are new to Mega Moolah and progressive jackpot slot games in general.

So, if you are looking for more specific information, or information about a specific aspect of the Mega Moolah slot, then it may be best skimming through the article to find the information you require.

However, if you are new to progressive slot gaming and in particular the Mega Moolah slot, then let me welcome you to a whole new world of slot gaming, where every spin on the slot could be the one that changes your life for the better.

Let's start with the very basics.

What is a progressive jackpot slot?

In a standard slot, you place your bet and then hit a button to spin the reels. Your money goes into the slot and if you hit a winner, you get a cash prize back. There's just one central fund for all bets on the slot and all winning spins are paid from that fund.

A progressive jackpot slot is a game that is different to a standard slot game in that a small proportion (called a seed) of the stake money a player spends on each spin, is added to a separate progressive jackpot fund. The fund then grows in size over time and with players playing more spins until one player hits the jackpot when playing the game. When this occurs, the progressive jackpot is won, the pot is then reset back to its initial amount and the process begins again.

With progressive jackpot slots, the more spins on the slot and the longer between jackpot triggers, the greater the size of the progressive jackpot prize can be. Furthermore, many progressives have a basic 'seed' amount.

Seed amount

A 'seed' amount is the amount of money that is placed into the progressive jackpot prize fund when it is won in full by a player. For some slots this can be a few hundred or thousands.

For Mega Moolah, part of what makes the slot so special, is that its seed amount is £1,000,000. Which means that every winner of the top Mega Moolah progressive jackpot will at minimum become a millionaire in their chosen currency.

Default currency and progressive jackpot conversion

The default currency for Mega Moolah is the British Pound, but players can play in a number of local currencies (and will receive a jackpot pay out in their currency of play). If a jackpot is won in a currency that is not the default British Pound, then the equivalent number of British Pounds is converted into the local currency to pay the jackpot prize in full to the winning player.

Any remaining British Pounds in the jackpot fund once the player has been paid in full in their local currency (such as Canadian or New Zealand dollars, or the Euro) then remain in situ, meaning that the progressive jackpot does not always revert back to the default £1,000,000 after every win, but only after a British player lands the jackpot prize.

Let's now learn more specifically about the Mega Moolah slot itself and what makes it one of the most popular online slot games in history.

What is Mega Moolah?

The first thing to note is that the original Mega Moolah game is a 5-reel slot that has a total of 25 lines playable on each spin. It is based on an African Safari theme. Alongside the original game, over the years there have been other slots that have also paid into the Mega Moolah progressive jackpot fund and from which you could win the progressive jackpot prize. This includes game themes like Mega Moolah Egyptian-theme and Mega Moolah American-theme and Mega Moolah summer-theme, as well as games that are no longer available such as The Dark Knight and Lord of the Rings slots.

For this article, we will be focusing on the original African Safari theme game only, although everything that is written here will apply to the other themes too.

Let's begin though by taking a look at the base game, before we move on to look at the progressive jackpots in more detail.

Mega Moolah base game

The base game of Mega Moolah is a 5-reel slot with three visible symbols on each reel. There are 25 lines in play on each spin and you can bet from as little as 0.25 per spin, up to a maximum of 6.25 per spin.

You can win the progressive jackpots on any spin, but the more you wager, the slightly better your chances of triggering the Jackpot Bonus Game, which is the key to winning any of the four progressive jackpots.

Symbols

There are a total of 10 standard symbols on the reels in the Mega Moolah slot. These are five playing card symbols, Ace, King, Queen, Jack and 10 and these offer wins ranging from 2 coins up to 150 coins.

Higher value symbols come in the form of five African animals. The Kudu, Zebra and Giraffe all offer pays when landed three or more times on a winning line and these wins range from 10 coins up to 500 coins.

The Buffalo and Elephant offer wins from just 2 symbols on a winning line and these wins range from 4 coins up to a maximum of 750 coins.

Base game bonus symbols & features

In addition to these standard symbols, there are two other symbols on the reels in the standard Mega Moolah slot that offer access to the slots main base game bonus features.

The Lion symbol is the Wild symbol, and this serves two purposes. Firstly, it can be used as a substitute for any of the standard symbols outlined above to create winning lines on a spin. Land more than one Lion Wild and you can land some of the better value wins in the base game. Any win with a Lion Wild included is also subject to a 2x multiplier which doubles the standard value of the win.

Secondly, the Lion symbol also offers its own higher value wins, which start at 15 coins for 2 Wilds on a pay line but increases up to 15,000 coins for landing five Wilds across a single winning line.

The only other symbol on the reels is the strange looking purple creature with orange hair. This is the Scatter symbol and you need to land three, four or five of these to trigger the Free Spins bonus round which will see you receive 15 Free Spins with every win in the bonus feature tripled.

The maximum win in the base game is 75,000 coins, while in the Free Spins that increases to 225,000 coins, which means that you can win a large amount of money by playing the base game, as well as triggering the progressive jackpot bonus game.

Mega Moolah progressive jackpots

Mega Moolah also doesn't have just one progressive jackpot but instead boasts four. They are:-

Mini Jackpot - Usually around £10 in value but can vary in size

Minor Jackpot - Usually around £100 in value but can vary in size

Major Jackpot - Usually over £10,000 in value but can be considerably more than this.

Mega Jackpot - At least £1,000,000 in value but can be considerably higher than this.

Every spin of the reel sees a small percentage of your stake added to each of the four progressive jackpot funds.

In terms of triggering the jackpots, the lower value jackpots (Mini and Minor) are triggered far more frequently than the two larger value jackpots (Major and Minor). Indeed, the Mini and Minor jackpots will likely be triggered thousands of times daily, while the Major jackpot tends to be won a few times a day.

The time between each Mega Jackpot win however can vary greatly between a few days, to months, or even years.

How do I trigger the Progressive Jackpots?

You will have noticed that there is no progressive jackpot winning line of symbols on the reels in the base game, which of course begs the question of how you can actually win any of the four different progressive jackpot prizes on the Mega Moolah slot.

The answer is brilliantly simple, you can't win the Mega Moolah jackpot from what lands on the reels in the base game of Mega Moolah, but every time you spin, you have a chance of launching the Jackpot Bonus Game.

So regardless of whether your spin is a winner or not, every time you spin the reel the software will decide whether your spin is worth a spin on the Jackpot Bonus Game. Of course, most of the time you won't get lucky, but on occasion you will and that is when the screen changes from the base game slot, into the Jackpot Bonus Game.

What is the Jackpot Bonus Game?

The Jackpot Bonus Game is very simple. You are presented with a wheel, which is divided up into many different sectors. All you need to do is click on the reel to set it spinning and then when it comes to rest, if you have landed in one of the sectors that corresponds to one of the four Mega Moolah progressive jackpots then you will win that prize.

Red Sectors - Mini Jackpot Prize

Orange Sectors - Minor Jackpot Prize

Yellow Sectors - Major Jackpot Prize

Silver Sector - Mega Jackpot Prize

Of course, the wheel is far more likely to land on the Orange and Red sectors more than the Yellow and Silver, which is why the Mini and Minor jackpots are triggered more frequently, but every so often players will land the larger prizes and that usually signals a life-changing win.

The important thing to note is that the more you wager on the Mega Moolah slot on each spin, then the greater your chances are of triggering the Jackpot Bonus Game. So, if you play for the minimum 0.25 per spin, then you will have slightly less chance of triggering the bonus than a player playing for 1.00 or 6.25 per spin.

Other questions regarding Mega Moolah

What are the rules regarding my pay out if I win the 'big one'?

Microgaming, the developers of Mega Moolah, have made the rules regarding pay outs for the top Mega Moolah prizes very clear. If a player wins the prize, then they will receive that prize in full, in a single lump sum, usually within just a few days after they have won their prize.

After a player has triggered a big jackpot win, they will be contacted by their casino via a phone call to confirm the win and arrange the next stage of the process to receive their cash prize. This will involve players verifying their identity, informing the casino whether they want any publicity following the win or not and where and receiving details on when they need to go to receive their prize.

Are my Mega Moolah winnings taxed?

In some parts of the world, Mega Moolan wins are tax-free (such as in the UK) but you will need to check the tax rules in your country to see whether your winnings will be taxed in some way once you have received them. Tax rules do differ from country to country but in majority of countries where Mega Moolah is available gambling winnings are tax-free.

Once the Mega Jackpot has been won, will it not be won again for a while?

No, the Mega Moolah jackpot can be won on any spin, at any time, with any amount of money in the progressive jackpot fund. Your chances of winning the jackpot are the same regardless of whether the top jackpot was won 10 spins, or one thousand spins ago.

Do I need to download an app to play Mega Moolah on my device?

No. Mega Moolah cannot be played from any app. It plays from within a browser. There is absolutely no requirement to download any app to access the game on any device.